Episode 209: The Public Makes the Work Better - with Jeremy Deller

About this episode

Heidi Zuckerman interviews artist Jeremy Deller about the role of public participation in art and how it shapes the work.

In this episode of About Art, I speak with Jeremy Deller , an artist whose work expands beyond museums into public space, where it is shaped by the people who encounter it. Deller reflects on how he came to understand that art does not need to live inside institutions—and how some of the most meaningful work happens when the public is not just viewing but participating. We discuss processions, music, and collective experience, as well as the unpredictability of working outside traditional spaces. At the center of the conversation is a simple but profound idea: the audience is not separate from the work—they complete it. This episode is about openness, participation, and the power of art to create shared experiences in the world around us.

People in this episode

Guest: Jeremy Deller

Topics covered

• public art
• participation
• collective experience
• audience engagement

Keywords

• art
• museums
• processions
• music
• shared experiences

Mentioned in this episode

Books & works: The Public Makes the Work Better, About Art

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